Editing Nationality (section)

== Nationality versus ethnicity ==
{{Main|Ethnic nationalism}}

Nationality is sometimes used simply as an alternative word for [[ethnic group|ethnicity]] or national origin, just as some people assume that citizenship and nationality are identical.<ref>{{cite book |author=Oommen, T. K. |title=Citizenship, nationality, and ethnicity: reconciling competing identities |publisher=Polity Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1997 |page=6 |isbn=978-0-7456-1620-9 }}</ref> In some countries, the [[cognate]] word for ''nationality'' in local language may be understood as a synonym of ethnicity or as an identifier of cultural and family-based [[self-determination]], rather than on relations with a state or current government. For example, some [[Kurds]] say that they have Kurdish nationality, even though there is no Kurdish [[sovereign state]] at this time in history.

[[File:Russian birth certificate of Michael Lucas.JPG|thumb|A Soviet birth certificate, in which the ''nacional'nost' '' of both parents (here both [[Jews|Jewish]]) was recorded. These records were subsequently used to determine the ethnicity of the child, as specified in his internal passport.]]
In the context of former [[Soviet Union]] and former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], "nationality" is often used as translation of the [[Russian language|Russian]] ''nacional'nost' '' and [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''narodnost'', which were the terms used in those countries for [[ethnic group]]s and local affiliations within the member states of the [[federation]]. In the Soviet Union, more than 100 such groups were formally recognized. Membership in these groups was identified on Soviet [[internal passport]]s, and recorded in [[census]]es in both the USSR and Yugoslavia. In the early years of the Soviet Union's existence, ethnicity was usually determined by the person's native language, and sometimes through religion or cultural factors, such as clothing.<ref name="Slezkine">Slezkine, Yuri (Summer 1994) "The USSR as a Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism" ''Slavic Review'' Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 414-452</ref> Children born after the revolution were categorized according to their parents' recorded ethnicities. Many of these ethnic groups are still recognized by modern [[Russia]] and other countries.

Similarly, the term ''[[List of ethnic groups in China|nationalities of China]]'' refers to ethnic and cultural groups in China. Spain is one nation, made up of [[Nationalities and regions of Spain|nationalities]], which are not politically recognized as nations (state), but can be considered smaller nations within the Spanish nation. Spanish law recognizes the autonomous communities of [[Andalusia]], [[Aragon]], [[Balearic Islands]], [[Canary Islands]], [[Catalonia]], [[Valencian Community|Valencia]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] as "[[Nationalities and regions of Spain|nationalities]]" (''nacionalidades'').

In 2013, the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] unanimously affirmed the position that "citizenship" (e.g. Israeli) is separate from ''le'om'' ({{Langx|he|לאום}}; "nationality" or "ethnic affiliation"; e.g. [[Jews|Jewish]], [[Arab]], [[Druze]], [[Circassians|Circassian]]), and that the existence of a unique "Israeli" ''le'om'' has not been proven. Israel recognizes more than 130 ''le'umim'' in total.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=Jonathan |title=Court nixes push for 'Israeli nationality' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/10/court-nixes-push-israeli-nationality-20131017115755321289.html |access-date=2020-06-23 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=2020-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625010634/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/10/court-nixes-push-israeli-nationality-20131017115755321289.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Is "Israeli" a Nationality? |url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/6516 |access-date=2020-06-23 |website=[[Israel Democracy Institute]] |date=September 2014 |archive-date=2020-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625130320/https://en.idi.org.il/articles/6516 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ornan v. Ministry of the Interior (CA 8573/08) |url=https://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/sites/default/files/upload/opinions/Ornan%20v.%20Ministry%20of%20the%20Interior.pdf |access-date=2020-06-23 |archive-date=2020-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007204410/https://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/sites/default/files/upload/opinions/Ornan%20v.%20Ministry%20of%20the%20Interior.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The older ethnicity meaning of "nationality" is not defined by political borders or [[passport]] ownership and includes nations that lack an [[sovereign state|independent state]] (such as the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Scottish people|Scots]], [[Welsh people|Welsh]], [[English people|English]], [[Andalusians]],<ref>[http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/03/20/pdfs/A11871-11909.pdf ''Boletín Oficial del Estado'' of Spain, n. 68 of 2007/03/20, p. 11872.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609194157/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/03/20/pdfs/A11871-11909.pdf |date=2011-06-09 }} Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia. Article 1: «Andalusia, as a historical nationality and in the exercise of the right of self-government recognized by the Constitution, is constituted in the Autonomous Community within the framework of the unity of the Spanish nation and in accordance with article 2 of the Constitution.»</ref> [[Basques]], [[Catalans]], [[Kurds]], [[Punjabis]], [[Kabyles]], [[Baluchs]],  [[Pashtuns]], [[Berbers]], [[Bosniaks]], [[Palestinians]], [[Hmong people|Hmong]], [[Inuit]], [[Copts]], [[Māori people|Māori]], [[Wakhi people|Wakhis]], [[Xhosas]] and [[Zulus]], among others).{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}